Chris Cox's Political Report -- John Kerry and the Second Amendment

As he campaigns to take the White House, John Kerry claims he
respects the Second Amendment. But his 20 years of casting anti-gun
votes in the U.S. Senate reveal the truth.

The Democratic presidential primary season opened with a
surprise in Iowa this year. John Kerry went into the Iowa contest
as a second-tier candidate, but upset Howard Dean in a runaway. The
primal scream performance that Dean gave after losing in Iowa
helped Kerry to smother Dean's aspirations for good. Kerry went on
to win New Hampshire and then claim five more states on Super
Tuesday.

At this writing, it looks like John Kerry is well on his way to
earning the Democratic nod to run against President Bush. But if
Kerry wins, gun owners lose. A review of the votes he has cast
since becoming a Senator in 1984 should make all law-abiding gun
owners want to scream.

"I don't want to be the candidate of the NRA, I don't
want our party to be the party of the NRA."

--Senator John Kerry

Make no mistake, Kerry is trying to garner support from gun
owners. He has repeatedly staged photo-ops afield with his
side-by-side, and has proudly claimed to be a hunter "since he was
a kid." His supporters have crowed about garnering votes from
gun-owning Democrats in the primaries thus far. But the remarks he
delivered at an meeting for party insiders reveal the truth behind
his deceptive scheme.

Kerry told the party faithful that Democrats "cannot afford to
be a party that reads the wrong lessons from the last elections. .
. . I come here to tell you, we can't go out and win elections by
throwing out our principles. I won't do it. I'm a hunter, I'm a gun
owner, but I have never, ever thought of shooting with an AK-47
when I go hunting. And I will tell you, I don't want to be the
candidate of the NRA, I don't want our party to be the party of the
NRA. I reject that notion. We can stand up for safety in America
and keep guns out of the hands of children and felons and still
respect the Second Amendment of our nation." So what does Kerry
mean by professing his "respect" for the Second Amendment? Let's take an quick overview of his voting
record. His earliest votes came during the mid-1980s battle to
enact the Firearms Owners' Protection Act. Kerry voted against all
of the NRA-backed amendments during debate over the bill, and then
was one of only 15 Senators to oppose final passage of the critical
package of pro-gun reforms. If Kerry had his way, gun owners would
still have to register to purchase .22 rimfire ammunition, and we'd
all be subject to a 10-year prison sentence for selling a gun to a
friend or family member.

It doesn't get any better from there. The Senate spent several
years in the 1990s debating different versions of legislation to
ban semi-automatic firearms, as well as several versions of the
"Brady bill" to mandate a waiting period before the purchase of a
handgun. Kerry voted repeatedly in favor of waiting periods, and
even voted to keep state waiting periods intact when the federal
law switched to an instant check. Kerry also voted in favor of
every proposal to ban semi-automatic firearms, always supporting
the most sweeping restrictions under debate. Kerry was there to
help Bill Clinton in 1994, voting several times to put the Clinton
gun ban on the books.

If that's not enough for you, let's look at the other ways Kerry
showed his "respect" for the Second Amendment. Kerry voted to
eliminate the Department of Civilian Marksmanship, and also voted
to hold gun owners responsible if their firearms were stolen and
misused. He voted repeatedly to ban gun shows, and also voted to
strip federal bankruptcy protections away from the gun industry. He
voted to "commend" the so-called Million Mom March--where anti-gun
impresario Rosie O'Donnell led the crowd in a chant demanding gun
registration--and voted to let the FBI charge an unlimited gun tax
on firearm purchasers.

There is one type of control he has voted against--crime
control. He voted against a 1999 proposal to increase mandatory
penalties for the illegal transfer or use of a firearm, and to
authorize funding for additional prosecutors. Kerry was well ahead
of his time in knowing that support for enforcing laws against
violent criminal misuse of firearms would undercut his aggressive
anti-gun agenda.

So it makes sense that Kerry also voted against the nomination
of John Ashcroft for Attorney General. Kerry would vehemently
oppose two of Ashcroft's major accomplishments: officially
recognizing the Second Amendment as an individual right, and
overseeing the establishment of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which
coordinates the vigorous enforcement of federal laws against
violent criminal misuse of firearms.

For the icing on the cake, Kerry voted to censor NRA's free
speech by supporting the campaign finance "reform" law. Kerry has
accused NRA of "stealing our democracy" with our strong grassroots
efforts, so it must have made sense to him to silence our voice in
the critical period just before elections.

If that's "respect" for the Second Amendment, I would hate to
see disrespect. And if John Kerry wins the White House in November,
the mask will come off his radical anti-gun agenda.

Yesterday, NRA filed a legal challenge in the Thurston County Superior Court objecting to the misleading and inadequate ballot title for Initiative 1639, which seeks to further restrict the Second Amendment rights of Washington's law-abiding citizens. The Thurston ...

On May 23rd, the Massachusetts state House of Representatives will be voting on House Bill 4517, which would allow firearms to be seized from individuals following baseless accusations without proper due process.

On May 23rd, the Illinois state House of Representatives voted 80-32 to pass House Amendment 2 to House Bill 2354 to allow Second Amendment rights to be revoked without due process. HA 2 to HB 2354 now ...

We have recently been reporting on the bizarre anti-gun activism of one of the nation’s larger firearm retailers, Dick’s Sporting Goods and its affiliated Field & Stream stores. First, the company announced it would stop selling most centerfire semi-automatic ...

You likely recall we mentioned a new anti-gun organization recently formed, which was billed as the brainchild of actress Alyssa Milano. You may also recall that we reported her group, NoRA, had made the vaguely threatening proclamation, ...

The headline of the USA Today op-ed said it all. Anti-gun Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) last week advocated for legislation to ban an as-yet undetermined class of semi-automatic firearms and to “go after resisters” who refuse to relinquish their ...

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.